A theoretical study proposes that collapsing massive stars may form gravastars rather than black holes by creating miniature universes inside themselves. The model offers the first dynamic explanation for how these exotic objects could arise from ordinary stellar matter.
Theoretical physicists Daniel Jampolski and Professor Luciano Rezzolla at Goethe University Frankfurt have developed a new solution to Albert Einstein's equations of general relativity. Their work indicates that the collapse of a massive star could trigger the birth of a tiny universe driven by dark energy, which expands and halts the process before a singularity forms.
The researchers describe gravastars as ultra-compact objects filled with dark energy that produces outward pressure to counteract gravity. This avoids the conceptual issues of singularities and event horizons associated with black holes while matching their observed density and mass.
Jampolski notes that the Big Bang of the emerging universe can unfold once the star has already collapsed almost to the point of becoming a black hole. Rezzolla emphasizes that exploring such alternatives does not imply skepticism toward black holes, which remain the simplest explanation, but maintains an unbiased approach to unknowns.
The study appears in Physical Review D and addresses a question debated for about 25 years regarding gravastar formation from ordinary matter.